Synchronicity is at work.

Or, what do a trip, a book and an email have in common this Monday?

As I coped with jet lag last week, I also noted my inner struggle over how I pass my days, having witnessed first hand how they do it in Italy (last year it was France that got to me!), along with an interesting book recommended to me by a client, and a Harvard Business newsletter article that hit my Inbox over the weekend.

Here's what I have once again noticed.

The Italians I encountered in medium and small towns (didn't get to any big ones this time) appeared to place a greater emphasis on quality of life than on conquering the next Mount Everest. At least that is how I interpreted the viscous, hot silence that would fall over the typical town or village between about noon and 3 PM each day. Even the street cats stopped prowling. With door and window shutters pulled closed, there was little to be seen and heard.

Our Italian hostess explained it this way (once she was up from her snooze):

"We like to keep things in perspective. Our biggest meal is in the middle of the day and then we take it easy, maybe sleep, may lie down, so that we can still save our energy for the cool part of the day. That way, we can get all our work done".

This approach reminded me of our long-ago daily rituals in the small Zimbabwean bush hospital I worked in as a 5th year medical student when almost all work would cease at 11:30 AM and again at 3:00 PM for a cup of tea and a sandwich. Civilized living in the bush!

Each time I rediscover the different ways to live, I agonize over existential questions such as:

• Who made the rules that suggest that I have to work so hard to get ahead?
• Why is getting ahead so important?
• Am I really just a slacker at heart?
• What am I losing out on by opting to put in a 9-10 hour day of work, instead of lingering over a 2-hour luncheon or sipping tea in the late afternoon in a plaza somewhere? (Where would I even find such a plaza or piazza in L.A.?)
• What will I regret on my death bed? And what can be avoided if I pay attention now?

And for the book I learned about last week?

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives offers a timely (and synchronous!!) reminder of the deeply restorative value of Time Off. It's no stretch to see past any religious allusions and to spot the universality of the ideas. And the book is easily digested, offering short chapters and even meditations -- perhaps best enjoyed after a meal and a glass of white wine while lying on a cool sheet in a shuttered villa!

Finally, if I'm sounding a little wacko, let me back up my position with a recent August article from a dignified business authority, the Harvard Business newsletter, titled To Get More Done, Slow Down.

But how many of us work nonstop, day after day, without a break? It might feel like we're making progress, but that schedule will lead to injury for sure.

And when we do take the time to rest, we discover all sorts of things that help us perform better when we're working. Inevitably my best ideas come to me when I get away from my computer and go for a walk or run or simply engage in a casual conversation with a friend.

I reiterate my belief that, as physicians in the US, we have a wonderful standard of living that we strive very hard to maintain, but we have traded that for a much poorer quality of life!

Your thoughts??...